Defying the Darkness
by Lady Daemon
Summary: The sequel to Lost Within the Void. Matrix struggles to find normalcy after having been admitted to the Academy's Psychiatric ward following a violent outburst directed at AndrAIa. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Okay, so here it is...the very, VERY long over-due sequel to "Lost Within the Void". Hope you all enjoy it._

Defying the Darkness  
Chapter One

Dot sat with her elbows on her desk, her head resting in her hands. She had just completely run out of tears to cry. It had been almost two cycles since Bob had explained what happened with Matrix, and why he was in the care of the Academy's psychiatric ward, but she still couldn't get past it. Where had she gone wrong? She had tried so hard to raise him right, but when the Web World Wars hit Mainframe, the bits hit the fan. She had tried to put too much responsibility on him, make him grow up too fast...and this was the result.

Without warning, Phong rolled into her office, taking her off-guard.

"My child," He placed one of his long, slender hands on her shoulder. "You are not well; you should go home and rest. The system is at peace for the present...as I'm sure it will be upon your return. Until that time, I can work in your place."

"I just don't understand, Phong," She looked at him with lost eyes. "How could I not see that he needed help?"

"Sometimes those that are closest to the fire are the last to feel the burn."

What could Dot say? She was hurting like she'd hurt when she'd lost her father. She didn't feel like Matrix was ill; she felt like he was gone...like he'd slipped through the cracks and to his deletion.

------

"I ought to crack you one, Ray," Mouse growled, stomping out of the Diner as AndrAIa strolled in.

"What's got her so upset?" The GameSprite asked, taking the booth where the Surfr sat.

"I don't know," He sighed, staring out the window. "It's been a two-cycle war...I don't even think we know what we're arguing about anymore." He shrugged his shoulders and gave a brief, forced laugh.

"It's me, isn't it?" AndrAIa replied, following the Surfr's gaze to the outside of the Diner.

"Nah, Love...it's not you. All you did was get the ball rolling," He took a sip from his drink. "She's been bringing up things that I didn't even know were a problem."

"Oh?" She looked at Tracer with open curiosity. "Like what?"

"Well the gem of the second was 'Ray, I want you to stop Surfing; we never see each other anymore'." He shook his head. "What'd she think she was getting when she hooked up with a Web Surfr?" AndrAIa couldn't help but laugh at this. "So how've you been holding up?"

At his query, her smile still remained, but it became forced and artificial.

"I really wish people would stop asking that." AndrAIa had spoken with sincerity. She had put Matrix to the back of her thoughts - it was going to be almost two cycles before he came home, and she couldn't spend her time dwelling on him.

"Oh, sorry..."

"No, no, Ray, it's alright," She slid down a little in her booth. "I know you mean well," She shrugged. "It just gets tiresome after a while."

------

"So, Matrix, how're you?" Turbo pushed a mug of Java across the table to the Renegade.

"Pretty good, actually," He took a sip of the hot brew. "But if people keep asking me that like I'm psychologically impaired, I'm going to have to hit someone." He chuckled lightly, taking another sip.

"You feel ready to go home?" The Prime poked at a small droplet of Java that he had spilled on the round café table. "Your program ends in just over a cycle now, you know..."

Matrix' light mood changed to serious in a mere nano.

"I don't know if I'm ready yet...to face them," He crossed his arms. "I know they'll never look at me the same way again..."

"Don't think like that." The Prime Guardian said firmly. "It's not like you're the only sprite that's ever been through something like this. When you fight all your life, it gets hard deal with after a while. I understand it Matrix, and so will they."

"How can you say you understand?" The green sprite spoke sharply, but without anger. "You don't know what it's like to be in my situation," The yellow-haired sprite raised his eyebrows to share a matter-of-fact expression. "...really?" Matrix stared across at him in shock. "_You_?"

"I haven't been a Prime all my life, if that's what you mean." He grinned at the Cadet. "You think I sit down like this with everyone who comes through the Academy?" Matrix nodded in acknowledgment of his point. "You're not the only one with a back-story, Matrix. Remember that."

------

When Dot arrived home, she found her young brother curled up on the floor with Frisket, both asleep and looking positively mournful in their slumber. She hadn't spent much time with them since Matrix left...hadn't really made an effort to make them feel better...and this was the first time it really sunk in that they needed her. Grimacing at her indiscretion, she laid down beside them and whispered:

"Hey, wake up you two," She gently brushed her hand through Enzo's hair. "Wake up..." Both pairs of eyes began to blink groggily, adjusting to the light. "It's the middle of the second...why are you napping? And on the floor of all places..." The female smiled softly at the pair of companions, sitting up as they did. "...let's go for a picnic in Floating Point. Just us three. Hm?" The boy shrugged despondently while Frisket wandered off into another room. "Oh come on," Dot gave him a pat on the shoulder. "It'll be fun; I promise. Maybe I can even convince Bob to come along and get out that guitar of his...give us a private concert."

"No," Enzo muttered, standing and walking off as if he hadn't heard a word.

"Alright..." The responded in difficult agreement. "What about a...a-"

"I said 'No'!" The child roared, stomping away into his room and slamming the door behind him.

Dot shook her head. He was so much like Matrix when he was angry and, like Matrix, he was taking to flaring up at the drop of a hat...it both scared and upset her. Was he on the same path as his brother? Could she stop him before it was too late?

A knock on the door made her thoughts recede, and forced her to compose herself long enough to face whomever waited on the other side.

"Come in."

A bouquet of flowers, held by blue fingers, poked itself into the room, the rest of the sprite appearing a moment later.

"Hi Dot," Pushing the daisywheels into her hand at her side, he kissed her on the cheek and pulled her into a loving hug. "How are you?"

"Been better," She reciprocated automatically, staring up at him adoringly. "You?"

"I got a progress report from Turbo," He replied, rocking her gently from side to side in his arms. Dot immediately snapped to attention.

"And...?"

"Matrix is doing well," Guardian 452 smiled faintly. "He might even be able to come home a few seconds early - apparently he's making leaps and bounds with his treatment."

"That's good..." Dot was resigned in her reply.

"What's wrong?" The blue sprite bent slightly to look her directly in the eyes. "Dot?"

She shrugged her shoulders, letting her head tilt to one side.

"I'm worried about Enzo...I never thought it would happen, but I just don't know what to do to help him..." Clearing her throat, she glanced back in the direction of the boy's room. "Can you talk to him for me?"

------


	2. Chapter 2

Defying the Darkness  
Chapter Two

"Enzo -"

"Don't try to understand me! You have no idea what it's like!" The child yelled as Bob tried to reason with him.

"Enzo, listen to me!" The Guardian caught him by the arm as he attempted to storm out of the room. "What happened to Matrix isn't going to happen to you!"

"How do _you_ know?" The green sprite spat, glaring at Bob as if he were some hideous virus.

"You didn't get launched into the games." Guardian 452 spoke as if it hurt him to remember what had happened. "Matrix...he -" The blue sprite trailed off. "Enzo, you're already different from your brother. At your age, he was lost in the games and trying to find me so we could get home...so we could save Mainframe from Megabyte." There was a brief moment of silence as Enzo returned to his zip-board chair. "Be glad you live in peace times." Bob said, giving the boy a pat on the shoulder. "Sure, you've seen this city under Viral occupation, but you never had to endure Megaframe. Daemon might have been a SuperVirus, but Megabyte was the one who could devastate a sprite's resolve." The silver-haired sprite halted his words, and the terrible memories that accompanied them, and headed for the door. "Oh, and give your sister a break...she _is_ trying, you know."

"No she isn't." Enzo replied with a wounding simplicity. "She acts like I don't even exist...like she treated you when she thought you were a..." The child hesitated. "...a _copy_, like me."

Bob let his face fall into his hands for a moment, pulling them back as if he were brushing away the tension.

"No, Enzo, no..." The two sprites locked eyes. "She loves you more than you can possibly imagine; don't forget everything that she's gone through in her own life. She's tired, to put it simply." The Guardian shrugged. "She needs you to look out for her as much as you need her to look out for you, but you know the way she is..."

The boy seemed to take this morsel to heart, not speaking again, but digesting what he had just heard and trying to understand it.

------

Matrix now sat alone in the quiet café, pensive concerning the words that Turbo had left him with. _You're not the only one with a back-story, Matrix. Remember that._ It was driving him random. He found it hard to believe that Turbo had come from a dark background and been able to become a Prime Guardian because of it. He himself could hardly adhere to the drop of Guardian code Bob had given him, let alone find his way to becoming someone who could really change the Net for the better. Almost instinctively, he ran his fingers over his icon to see that it was in GameSprite mode...to see that it was _normal_.

His thoughts were disturbed, though, when a pair of arrogant Cadets, seemingly new to the SuperComputer and the Guardian Academy alike, decided to display the power they thought their Guardian code gave them. They first decided to see if Guardian status would get them free Java, and, when that failed, they tried their hand at getting dates off of the waitresses, taking on a mean tone when that too became a failure.

"We should report this place," One sneered, making sure to be heard by the sprites within the establishment. "For aiding dangerous criminals," As he said this, he turned to Matrix' table and boldly knocked the mug over, spilling cold Java into the Renegade's lap.

"And just _who_ do you think you are, _Cadet?_" He snarled, his chair tipping backward as he got up. Both Guardians were taken aback by this civilian that was now looming over them. "I spoke to you, Cadet. Name and number, both of you."

The second Cadet, who had until this point played wing-man, stepped up toe-to-toe with Matrix.

"We don't answer to scum like you," He said, almost laughing as he stared up at this monstrous sprite.

That was the last straw for the short-fused Matrix, who grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground with a sincerely vicious look on his face. He then changed his icon to Guardian mode and cornered both of them.

"You're not Guardians," The Renegade spat, his golden eye glowing red. "You're not even Cadets. There are Viruses better than you two," He continued, his words as dark and menacing as his facial expression. "Hand over your PIDs and get out."

"Back off, freak," One said, pushing him slightly. "I'm not giving you a spammed thing,"

Matrix pressed him back into the wall, taking Gun in one hand and pressing it against his chest.

"Either you give me your PID, or I'll blow it right off of your bitmap."

That was all it took. The two foul sprites dropped their icons and fled for their lives, and Matrix found himself being greeted with applause from the spectators of the café as he holstered his weapon and exited with PIDs in hand.

------

"Let me in there _now_." Matrix demanded, leaning on the receptionist's desk and glowering at the woman that sat staring up at him.

"Sir, the Prime is not available at the moment..." She replied, trailing off as he ignored her and headed for Turbo's door. "Sir, he's in a conference! Sir - sir!" Her voice was escalating, and her green eyes growing wide with nervousness.

Matrix entirely ignored the woman and burst into the room where Turbo was having a conference via VidWin.

"Cadet Matrix!" Turbo exclaimed, standing up without bothering to excuse himself from the face staring through the VidWin at them both. "Explain yourself." The Prime's eyebrows raised with impatient warning.

"Who works admissions at this place?" The green sprite asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What? Son, don't change topics." The greyish-mint sprite crossed his arms. "What are you up to?" He then turned back to the sprite waiting on the other end of the VidWindow. "Look, I'll get back to you...I've got something to deal with here. Sorry to be so abrupt, but - "

"Not a problem, Prime," The sprite said, waving a hand. "We'll wrap this up at a better time."

With that the Window closed, and Turbo and Matrix were back to business.

"Turbo, I'm serious," The Renegade began, looking him in the eye. "Who runs admissions here?"

"I do, I review every single sprite that gets accepted here. Why?" The Prime sat back down in his seat, folding his hands on the desk.

Matrix dropped the icons in front of Turbo's eyes, waiting for a reaction of any description. "Because two little punks were making trouble today at the Java Hut." The yellow-haired sprite narrowed his eyes as if to say: _Well you'd better keep explaining, Son, because I am not impressed. _"Turbo," The Renegade leaned on his desk, much like he had with the receptionist. "After the Daemon...thing, there have been questions about the Guardians' ability to protect the citizens of the Net. The last thing we need are Guardians who want to exploit that weakness and make it their power." Turbo leaned back in his chair and chuckled, despite the seriousness of the conversation. "What?" Matrix couldn't believe the reaction. "Turbo, it's not funny."

"Tell me Matrix, when did you go from Renegade to concerned Cadet?"

The green sprite's eyes opened wide, thinking about the point that had been made. He had no response for his superior, but stood with his mouth gaping as it tried to form words. Finding only "Uh" and "Um" on the tip of his tongue, he shrugged and cracked a very faint grin.

"That's what I thought." The Prime Guardian was amused, and beckoned him to sit. "You're exhibiting good signs Matrix. If, after your treatment, you want a job - or training - here, you just let me know and I'll make it happen." He picked up the PIDs and rolled them around in his hand. "Just...handle it more like a Guardian and less like a Renegade next time...I know your style, and the reports about you have just been rolling in..."

The Cadet again found himself at a loss for words.

"As for these two..." Turbo continued. "Well there are always a few bad sprites. I can usually pick them out of a crowd, but without a reason, I can't just turn them away. They make it harder to re-establish faith in the Academy, but that's just something we have to deal with. Now Cadet, on your way. I have things to take care of."

Matrix caught the fatherly sincerity in Turbo's stern words, and let himself absorb them. It was a rare occasion he even let himself be touched by such a thing anymore, but his resolve to distance himself from the Net was weakening, and so he simply took it as it was and continued on.

------

"Thanks, again," Dot gave Bob a series of short kisses. "For talking to Enzo,"

"Hey, anything I can do to help..." The blue sprite have his signature smile, and just as they were about to share another series of kisses, Mouse burst into the room, fuming.

"Bob, out, _now_." She said, her face contorted with anger.

Guardian 452 did not have to be asked twice. He gave a short nod to the Hacker, a quick kiss to his love, as was gone in a flash.

"Mouse, what's wrong?" Dot got her to sit down on the couch, waiting for a reply as the purple sprite fumed in silence.

"I'm gonna' strangle him, Dot," She stated, glaring off at nothing.

The eyebrows rose.

"Bob? Why?"

"No, not Bob!" The Hacker waved a hand at the green woman, shaking her head at the preposterous suggestion. "Ray! I've just about had it with him..."

------


	3. Chapter 3

Defying the Darkness  
Chapter Three

"I just don't know, Dot," Mouse shook her head. "We...Ray and I, before we started talking about what we really wanted - before we started questioning what we had - we were just fine..." The Hacker hung her head. "...but now..."

The tilted her own head to the side, looking over Mouse's distraught face. She didn't know what to say to make her feel any better, but she didn't feel like she could sit silently either.

"Mouse..." Dot bit her lower lip. "You need to do what's best for _you_,"

"But what about Ray?" The purple sprite looked sincerely sad about the situation. "He never would have stayed if it hadn't been for me."

Dot patted her on the knee, and replied with, "I don't know any better than you do, Mouse." She laughed softly. "Look at who you're talking to, after all...the sprite that almost married a Virus."

The Hacker grinned, despite how sincerely unhappy she was.

"Yeah, I sure know how to pick friends," She responded.

The pair then sat back in silence for a while, mulling over the dilemma of what to do about the relationship, when Enzo crept from his room.

"Dot?"

She instantly snapped to attention.

"Yes?"

"I think I'd like to go on that picnic now..." The boy spoke meekly, but with an expression gleaming with hope.

The two women exchanged glances, and then the started a slow nod.

"Alright," Dot agreed, giving him a sweet smile. "You don't mind if Mouse joins us, do you?"

---

AndrAIa had been sitting in the Diner all second. Ray had left micros ago, but she remained, thinking about everything she'd seen and experienced, and always coming back to Matrix. She missed him; she loved him; she wanted to see him now. Her mood was more contemplative than sad, but all the same, something didn't feel right.

Cecil had been surprisingly tolerant of her - unlike his ususal unrelenting insistence that those who are not buying should not be loitering, he simply let her sit and mope, occasionally checking to see if she wanted anything. Even she was beginning to notice this, and eventually, she dared to enquire.

"Cecil?" The GameSprite called to him as he buzzed past.

"Just a moment!" He was busy serving another table, but was back to hers in a few nanos. "Yes?"

"Are you...alright this second?"

"Of course! Why do you ask?" He clasped his hands in front himself.

"You've just been..." She paused, narrowing her eyes. "_Nice_...too nice."

The bot instantly became defensive. He had his reputation to uphold!

"I don't know what you're talking about!" He exclaimed as a suspicious grin began to grow on AndrAIa's face.

"You were being nice!" She exclaimed, truly amused suddenly by this odd little occurrence that had drawn her from her deep and steady pondering and made her eager to pursue the maintenance of a goofy little spurt that had given her a smile.

"I was not, Madame!"

"You were! Admit it! You actually _care!_" The sprite chuckled softly while the bot crossed his arms, frowning. "Tell me, when did they reprogram you?"

"Alright, enough of this foolishness!" He exclaimed, his accent thick with his growing impatience. "Out, out!" He waved his hands at her, motioning towards the door. "I have no time for silliness!"

The GameSprite headed on her way, childishly turning on her heel to stick her tongue out as she threw the doors open and dashed out backwards, a towel flying out after her.

Cecil, secretly pleased with himself for improving the sprite's day, went about his normal routine of muttering and being bitter, finding himself a new towel in the process. It wasn't very often he bothered, but he had to do something to break up the monotony every now and again, and as long as the system was safe, he figured he'd investigate the concept of 'being nice'.

AndrAIa's little burst, however, was as short-lived and artificial as the games from which she had come. It had been a fleeting moment at best, and while she had savoured the flash of happiness she had gained, it also made her realize how her happiness had been flickering and threatening to falter in the more recent seconds that had passed.

---

Matrix was lying on his bunk - the top bunk - in his dorm room, considering his situation. He could go home, he could stay here...he could go somewhere else entirely, if he didn't want to face his family again. His room mate clamoured into the small space with two or three other sprites, all making a racket and instantly cramping Matrix' style.

"Hey! Do you _mind_?" The Renegade sourly said over the noise.

"Oh, sorry man...didn't even know you were here." The sprites echoed each other in response to him, so Matrix just waved it off as if to tell them it wasn't a big deal. He had always wanted to be at the Academy, and granted, he wasn't there under normal circumstances, but he was there; he actually kind of enjoyed having to put up with a noisy room mate, and since only a handful of people knew why he was really there, he could settle in and not get treated like a freak.

Matrix really didn't know whether or not he was going back to the sprites he loved. He missed them, but feared that things would never be normal again. He wanted to talk more with Turbo, but suspected that he was probably sick of seeing him, so he decided to leave it alone - forget it - for the present, and go get a mid-second drink. He hadn't had any I/O in a few cycles, and he figured he'd probably enjoy one anyway (if nothing else he always thought more clearly over a good drink), so, feeling abnormally social, he invited the whole group along for a round on him. Needless to say they didn't refuse, but they were almost suspicious of his kindness, as well as the micro at which he proposed the idea. That was all settled though, when he offered to go all out and buy them some lunch so they wouldn't be drinking on empty stomachs. He neglected to remember that he had an appointment with Dr. Watson later that second, or if he remembered, he didn't care. He simply wanted to cut loose and be a little reckless; he needed an escape, and one missed appointment wasn't the end of the Motherboard anyway...

---

Ray walked quietly through Floating Point, his Baud tucked under his arm and his mood poor. He didn't really have any close friends here - AndrAIa and Bob were the closest, but they weren't really what tied him to this system...not like Mouse. At least that had been his way of thinking before the fighting started. He wasn't a sprite that liked to argue and be confrontational, and always being on the defensive lately was wearing him out. Furthermore, he didn't feel like he had a purpose in Mainframe - his purpose was to surf the Web and really help people by giving them safe passage into closed systems. That was what had landed him in this system in the first place. Strange how surfing, how performing his natural function, could leave him feeling trapped.

While thinking on this, he thought he heard the Hacker's laughter, and automatically smiled, until he realized that he had almost disastrously walked into a picnic where she, Dot, and Enzo were enjoying a snack. Freezing sheer feet from their ground, he caught Dot's eye; thankfully Enzo and Mouse had their backs to him. The green woman nodded discreetly to him, quickly looking back to the two sprites before her on the checkered blanket so as not to be obviously distracted.

Creeping backward quietly, the Surfr gasped in relief to be out of earshot again, turning around and nearly colliding with the resident Guardian.

"Holy!" Ray clapped his hand to his chest as if to stop from being startled. "User, mate...you scared the bits out of me..."

Bob ignored his statement.

"You alright, Ray?" He asked, seeming to see the unintentional slouch of the Surfr's posture and the stress on his face.

"Long as I don't have to put up with Mouse, I'm fine." He replied peevishly, trying to hide his overall state of discontent. The Guardian knew better than to press him.

"Cool," He said, unsuccessfully trying to pass himself off for someone who believed the other sprite's statement. "In that case, wanna' drop by Al's with me for a while? I used to go with Matrix every now and again, but since he's not around..."

"Sure," Was all the Surfr replied with, taking to his Baud as did Bob his zip board.

------

Dr. Watson, with golden-yellow hands folded behind his back, paced the floor and looked to the clock. Cadet Matrix was late, and after all the progress he'd made, the old sprite couldn't see why. It was because of this that he was hesitant to call on the Prime and inform him of the young man's absence - he didn't want him to be locked into an extra two or three cycles of treatment for one missed session. Then, just when he was about to pull up a VidWin, Turbo himself came in with the absentee in hand.

"Prime-"

"Doctor, he's your problem this second; I can yell at him later." Prime Guardian Turbo was boiling with anger, but kept himself impeccably calm...until Matrix tried to speak up in defense of himself.

"Look, Turbo,"

"You pull something like this again, and you're out on your ASCII, kid." He growled, getting in Matrix' face and curling his lip at the faint smell of the alcohol. "And what exactly were you thinking, anyway?" His voice grew as his cheeks reddened. "It's not like we can't track you down - you have a PID, Son! It took me all of two nanos to find out where you were! Is there any sense in that head of yours?"

"Look, Turbo, I'm sorry!" He spoke to the Prime as he would his own father. "I don't know what I was thinking!"

"You _weren't_ thinking! That's the problem!" Turbo closed his eyes, and then opened them to a glare. "In one second you've shown me that you can be both an upstanding citizen and an irresponsible idiot! I think I may have jumped the gun when I said I thought you'd be able to go home earl-"

"Prime." Dr. Watson interjected very pointedly. "The final choice is not yours, Sir, it is mine." This brought things to an abrupt halt, and gave Watson a chance to be the Renegade's advocate. "He has made phenomenal progress, Prime, and I won't have you under-minding me because you're angry with him. He made a mistake...like every other young sprite at this Academy - you and I both know that young sprites have judgement issues. One mistake. Let it drop, because I can assure you it will not happen again." Turbo had nothing to say, so he nodded and strode from the room, still fuming. Matrix, however, was eager to offer thanks, which were also very quickly halted. "Now, Cadet, I just put my reputation on the line for you," Old Watson said, staring up at his much taller patient. "Don't disappoint me, because I won't be so forgiving a second time."

Before they headed into another session of unmasking and dethroning Matrix' demons, the Renegade quietly stated, "I just needed an escape from it all...even if only for a mirco."

Watson shook his head. He had seen that so many times with sprites throughout his career, and it was a rare occasion when it did not lead to their downfall. He was certain this was something that had been clearly etched into Turbo's database as well...

For a nano he marvelled that his career stretched back to Turbo's youth, and then shrugged it off. Matrix was the patient at hand now, all these years later, and he was a lucky patient to have the Prime keeping such close tabs on him lest his own near-sighted judgement reverse everything that had been accomplished. If he stayed on track, he'd be home by the end of the cycle...maybe even the end of the session.

With that final thought, that final _objective_, Dr. Watson began his business as usual with the Renegade, and proceeded as though nothing of great significance had transpired. The moment of indiscretion had earned itself a few moments of discussion, but was tossed very quickly in the interest of pursuing more important issues.

------


	4. Chapter 4

Defying the Darkness  
Chapter Four

"Boy, this Sector has sure cleaned up, hasn't it?" The Surfr commented, looking around Al's Wait & Eat and taking a bite of his meal.

"Yeah..." Bob slurped on his drink and briefly grinned. "I remember when just coming into this Sector was an adventure itself, like that time I had to get some slow food for Dot -"

"Oh, right..." Ray nodded. "Heard that story before." He halted thoughtfully. "Y'know, I tried to talk to AndrAIa earlier, and she didn't seem too keen on the idea..."

"You mean, about Matrix?" The blue sprite set down his shake.

"Yep."

"What exactly did you plan to say...?" Guardian 452 was intrigued by the Surfr's small admission, and wanted to know what exactly was going on in his head. Ray shrugged, leaning back in his seat.

"Just wanted to talk it over with her. She already thinks this ruckus with Mouse is her fault, and now all this foolishness with Matrix...y'know..." The goggled sprite drummed his finger on the table, watching the Guardian's eyes squint at him suspiciously; Bob knew that something was up and Tracer knew that if he didn't say something, his Guardian friend would. "Alright...look, if it hadn't been for Matrix all those cycles back I probably would've put the moves on AndrAIa. As it was, I literally swept her off of her feet the first time we met...saving the damsel in distress."

Again Bob maintained his silence, allowing an unsettling quiet to come between himself and Tracer, who now shifted with a slight awkwardness in his seat under the scrutiny of the Guardian's stare.

"...and with things as they are, I figure if I'm gonna' say something, the time is now." The Surfr finished his thought with halting difficulty.

"Oh," This single syllable was drenched with a certain disappointed sarcasm that Guardian 452 made no effort to disguise. "You mean when Enzo's away and AndrAIa's vulnerable? Really honourable of you, Ray." Bob was about to excuse himself when the other sprite rose and blocked his path.

"It's not like that, Mate." The silver-haired sprite had patience enough to entertain these last few words. "I just finally know what I want and I'm going after it."

"Well far be it from me to stop you." That was all Bob could find to say in response, so, with a nod he soundlessly walked past the Surfr and out of the Wait & Eat.

------

"Doc...I just don't feel like..." Matrix paused, staring at the floor of Dr. Watson's office. "Like anything has changed. I mean, on some level...shouldn't I _feel_ different?" The Renegade closed his eyes, sighing and listening to his environment, but the only sound that returned to his ears for long time was that of Dr. Watson's shoes scuffing the floor as he paced back and forth.

"Matrix," The aging doctor's words began slowly. "You have told me a great deal of things about yourself. Things you have done...said...dreamed of, and you have confessed to me some very serious crimes. You yourself told me that these things plagued you and were driving you random, but now you do not have to bear these...Secrets...alone. These things that were burdening you are not just yours alone now, and with time you may find yourself trusting enough of those around you to confide some of these things to them as well." The doctor stopped his pacing. "The very fact that you don't feel like you have changed is a change unto itself, because now you are recognizing that there was an issue."

Again, things went quiet. Matrix suspected that Watson was waiting for a reply, but the Renegade did not provide one; instead he waited for more to be said.

"We have worked on your coping skills here, and I know that you are able to react to pressure more appropriately...most of the time. Your emotions have always been entirely valid - it was the degree to which you expressed them that posed a problem." The golden sprite again waited for his patient to speak, but with no words being offered, he continued his speech. "You're still working on that, but you have come far even since I met you. I've heard of your actions in the Java Hut most recently, and there was very likely a time when you would have just deleted the two trouble-makers and gone on your merry way. Take pride having done things the way you did, even if they were a little heavy-handed. We all have lapses in judgement from time to time, but if your intentions are in earnest your actions will be understood."

"I suppose." Was all that Dr. Watson got in reply, and this came from Matrix as he stood to leave because the session bell had rung.

"Matrix," The doctor took this opportunity to look the Renegade in the eye as he spoke. "I think it' time for me to release you from the Academy. You are an entirely sane and rational being, and it's time for you to start living your life. I will be placing you in the care of your sister, Dot -"

Matrix suddenly looked like he was about two nanos from hitting the floor from sheer shock.

"Doc, I'm not ready..."

"You are." Watson insisted. "You just don't realize it yet."

------

As Enzo eagerly ran off with Frisket on his heels, Dot breathed a murmur of relief. Perhaps the picnic had been a better idea than she had realized. Even Mouse seemed to have some level of relaxation and contentment to her features.

"Y'know what, Sugar?" The Hacker said, leaning back on her elbows on the checker blanket the two women now shared. "Ray can kiss my ASCII..." She flashed a smirk and laughed, to which Dot could only shake her head (in good humour, of course). "Nah, really Honey. He and I have been at each other's throats for cycles now, and I'm callin' it quits."

"And when did this epiphany hit you?" The asked, shifting from her kneeling position to a cross-legged one and poking a hand into the picnic basket to see if anything remained.

"Oh, just now." Stated Mouse, watching as the boy and his dog played in the distance. "I mean, the way I see it...no one's ever been able to bend me so far out of shape before - at least not _emotionally_ - " She winked, grinning. "And I don't want someone around who can."

Dot simply nodded, not really having anything to add. It didn't take a genius to see that her friend was lying through her teeth, but she also knew how incredibly pointless it would be to press the issue.

"By the way," The Hacker said thoughtfully. "I think there's something wrong with Cecil. He was a little odd at the Diner earlier."

"Yes, so I've heard from a few of my patrons..." The green sprite laid fully back on the blanket, putting her hands behind her head. "I'd say he's due to be reprogrammed - it happens every now and again, usually when his firmware updates. The customer's don't like it though; they're used to him being abrasive, so I always have to downgrade and reprogram."

"Strange." Was all that Mouse gave in reply.

------

Ray took a deep breath - actually a series of them - as he surfed Baud over to AndrAIa's apartment complex. He didn't have a sweet clue in Dell how he was going to approach this, and as he put his feet on the ground and put his transportation under his arm, he whispered to himself: "You can do this." and again released a heavy breath.

He thrust himself up the flight of stairs before he could talk himself out of it. After all, even if AndrAIa reciprocated his sentiments he'd still have Matrix to contend with. Swallowing his boyish apprehension, he knocked on the door, and upon hearing a voice from within, he chose to ingress.

"Hey, can I talk with you for a nano?" He asked, lingering in the doorway until the GameSprite on the sofa beckoned for him.

"Yeah, sure." She smiled, getting up to greet him. "Please, come in and have a seat."

Surveying the room, Tracer chose to sit in a large chair on the left-hand side of the room, casually draping himself over the arms of it rather than seating himself properly.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" She was in the process of bending to be seated again, when she asked. "Oh, did you want a drink or something?"

"No, thanks." He half-shook his head at the offer before going directly into business. "I've decided to break it off with Mouse."

The aqua-haired sprite had not seen this coming, and she certainly made no efforts to mask her astonishment.

"You're what?"

"Yeah, I know..." The Surfr swung his body around so that hit feet now touched the floor. "Sudden; but I can't let this drag out any longer. There's just no sense in it. I'm not what she wants...she's not what I want..." He paused to shrug. "Why prolong it?"

AndrAIa nodded, eyelids dropping ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry to hear it," She said softly.

"Don't be." He shifted again in his seat, now placing himself in the chair entirely properly. "Like I said...no sense in draggin' it out."

"So..." The female curled her legs up on the couch as she shuffled down to the end closest to him. "Why come and tell this to me?" She questioned, turning a hand in his direction.

Ray leaned forward and folded his hands in front of himself, his elbows on his knees and his chin on his knuckles.

"...because I don't know how to tell _her_ that."

------

Watson had said it was time for Matrix to go home, and Matrix - who now sat once again across from Turbo over a cup of Java - regarded the Prime's quiet office and wondered if he'd ever find himself in one like it. He'd never feel ready to go back to Mainframe, and so when Turbo had received the word that it was time to release him, he'd called the Level One Cadet into his office for one last chat.

"Do you want to give Bob and your sister the good news, or should I?"

The Renegade scoffed at the query, not even putting effort into forming a full word on the subject, but rather making a very nasal utterance before taking a sip of his cooling beverage.

"Alright. Point taken." The Prime replied, also reaching for his mug. "Look Matrix, I brought you here to let you in on something...about myself." He continued, hesitating to drink his Java and instead setting it back on the desk in front of him. "I don't know what value it will have to you, but I hope that maybe it'll give you a little more insight into your own situation."

The green sprite nodded, slowly, but not impatiently. "Go on."

Turbo leaned back in his swivel chair, letting his head tip back to stare at the ceiling tiles for a brief moment.

"I once was in a precarious situation not too unlike yours, Enzo Matrix. In fact, if anything, I had dug myself considerably deeper into the proverbial hole." The older sprite halted his speech and thoughtfully ran a hand over his chin. "...her name was Cookie actually, though she hated for anyone to ever refer to her by that name; she always felt it sounded too childish." This time the mint-coloured sprite took his mug and drank from it rather hastily. "She...she and I got into an argument one night...I had been drinking, and she had been yelling." He took another mouthful of the steaming Java into his mouth, as if drinking it gave his tongue the courage to speak. "She screamed at me that she was going to leave me. She screamed it three times while I pleaded with her not to go...to please forgive me..."

Turbo's eyes slammed shut as if he were viewing the event again in his mind. "But she wouldn't listen. She stormed away from me, and so I chased her, and when she was within range I struck her with everything I had across the back of her head - just to make her stop." The Prime had drained his mug, and he now clutched it tensely. "And she certainly did stop. I saw the sweep of her magenta hair as she fell to the ground, and when she didn't do so much as twitch, I checked her vitals, finding that I had...well..."

His purple eyes flew open and met with those across the desk from him, letting his melancholy facial expression do the rest of the explaining.

"From that second on I devoted myself to fighting for justice. The seconds became cycles, and the cycles became minutes..and eventually I found myself here - trying to make a difference to the Net."

The Renegade found himself most literally on the edge of his seat, hanging on Turbo's every word. He could barely believe his ears! He was so engrossed by this admission, even if from sheer shock alone, that he couldn't formulate a verbal reply, but could instead only listen intently.

"...I guess what I'm saying here is: If you're gonna' let your mistakes consume you, then put your struggling to good use."

The yellow-haired sprite rose abruptly and turned away from his one-man audience to stare at the blank wall behind himself. "Learn from your mistakes, Matrix. User only knows, someday you might be standing where I am now."

The younger of the two men rose - maintaining his silence - and prepared to depart.

"...Turbo?" He asked, his voice seeming so misplaced in the silence that had befallen. "What were you asking her to forgive you for?"

"I got into a fight with her brother and beat the bits out of him."

The only sound to be heard was Matrix rising and walking to the door.

The Prime's head nodded, and as he heard the sprite leave, he turned and dug his fingers into the back of his chair as he relived the moment of his greatest indiscretion. It was an agonizing mistake on his part to have stirred up those emotions again, but he had just seen so much of his younger self in Matrix that it almost seemed a greater mistake to _not_ tell him...just as it would have been a great mistake to not keep tabs on the boy and keep him in line.

The Prime couldn't help but wonder how different his life would be now had someone done the same for him.

------


	5. Chapter 5

Defying the Darkness  
Chapter Five

"Thanks for the good news, Turbo." Dot said. "We'll be ready and waiting."

The closed the VidWindow and called to Enzo across the park, simultaneously helping Mouse fold up the large checkered picnic blanket.

"What is it, Dot?" The boy asked, clearly chipper and in considerably better spirits than earlier that second.

"You brother is coming home." The violet-eyed female stated, searching Enzo's expression for a definitive reaction. It became immediately apparent that he didn't know how he felt about the return of the brutish Matrix, or else he didn't want to show Dot his distaste. Even the red and yellow streak that was Frisket slowed and looked between the two siblings, choosing to stay closer to the Hacker than either of them.

"Enzo?" The voice was careful in it's articulation of her brother's name. "Are you okay with that?"

The child shrugged.

"I guess so." He replied quietly, glancing to his dog and gesturing for him to come over.

"You sure, Sugar?"Mouse interjected. "Because it's not like you _have_ to be, y'know. I know the two of you don't get along too well." She smiled fondly as she looked down on him.

These seemed to have been the words Enzo had been waiting to hear, and immediately he blurted:

"It's like he hates me or something! Like I did something wrong for being a copy! It's not like I asked to be complied!"

"Oh, Enzo no..." His big sister dropped to her knees to look squarely into those troubled eyes of his. "He doesn't hate you...not for one nano. He just..." She paused, biting her lip. "He just looks at you and it reminds him of all the things he never got to do at your age. He could never hate you. If anything he loves you too much. He just doesn't know how to show it." She pulled Enzo into a hug.

"Don't you fret Honey," Mouse again chimed. "If you're not ready to be all buddy-buddy with him, I'm sure he'll understand."

------

"Bob," Turbo's voice echoed through the blue Guardian's apartment via VidWin. "You around?"

The silver-haired sprite actually had his head under the hood of his car. It had worked briefly, but, as seemed to be the way with any car Bob ever owned, it was now broken down and in need of repair.

"Turbo?" Having heard his name being called, Guardian 452 stood up hastily and knocked the support rod away from the hood, sending the hood itself crashing down on the back of his head. "Cursors and crashes!" He yelped, covering the sore spot with one hand while using the other to slam the front of the vehicle shut. "Basic car..." He muttered.

"Bob? You alright?"

"Yeah, Turbo, I'm fine. What's up?" He asked finally, turning to face the VidWin behind him.

"Matrix is ready to go home whenever you and Dot are ready to come get him. I just spoke with her, but I figured you should know too."

------

"Ray, I've never have to break up with anyone before...why in the Net would you come ask me?" AndrAIa was incredulously baffled.

"Well...you're a woman." He shrugged. "You'd know what she _doesn't_ want to hear."

"Oh I don't know about that..." The GameSprite replied mockingly, finding it somewhat strange that the Surfr would come to her for help on the matter. "...but I _do_ know one thing," She continued, watching and listening to every movement the other sprite made. "No woman wants to be lied to."

Tracer's facial expression didn't change, but the rate at which he drew breath increased so slightly that perhaps even he hadn't noticed it. He did feel the ever-increasing beating in his chest though, and began to wonder if the GameSprite could hear it.

"Alright..." He ran a hand over his face, standing up and walking around the room, stopping behind his chair and leaning on it. "Here's the deal..." A lump caught in his throat, and for a moment, he just couldn't speak. It was only AndrAIa's persistently suspicious gaze that kept his speech faculties from failing him entirely. "I don't want Mouse. I want you." The words seemed to echo off of the walls in this otherwise silent space.

The aqua-haired GameSprite's mouth dropped open in shock. She had been expecting _something_ odd to be coming, but this had been the farthest thing from her mind.

"You what?" She exhaled the word, truly blown away by what the Surfr had just said.

"I want you."

------

Enzo kept Frisket close as Bob emerged from a portal from the SuperComputer with Matrix in tow. He had been at the front of the group waiting to greet the massive sprite upon his arrival at the Principal Office, though why he didn't really know. He speculated that it was because he was short, though his basis for that speculation was entirely non-existant. Dot was directly behind him, and Phong to his side. Even a few of the binomes working in the building had also taken time to stop and see the Renegade come home. Mouse had gone off on her own errands, having said that the picnic had been all well and good, but she had some business to attend to before the second was out.

So here they were. The Guardian's blue face looked almost proud to be delivering such a guest back to his family. Matrix, however, looked uneasy and rather guilty, finding shame in even showing his face in Mainframe again.

He knew that there were people staring, people whispering, as he kept himself by the Guardian's side. He stomach was churning and his innards writhing as he neared the figures waiting for him. He primary concern was how Dot would react. After all, the last time he'd seen her had been at the banquet, and things had not been good. His secondary thought had been, "Where's AndrAIa?"

As the two continued walking, Bob quietly explained that he wanted to get Matrix back into the system and comfortable before he even considered bringing AndrAIa into the picture. After all, she was going to need time to prepare as well.

Bearing that in mind, the Renegade took those few more steps that would bring him close enough to those waiting for him to make it unacceptable not to speak. As irony would have it, he would first be made to speak with his younger self.

"Hey Kid," He said nervously, looking down into the face of an equally nervous child who gave no reply, but only seemed to hold tighter to his dog. Matrix felt the slightest pang of jealousy at this; Frisket was _his_ dog. Then again, Enzo was Matrix, too, so what did it matter? He crouched down to give the pet a pat, and to talk to young Enzo a little more personally. "I know I haven't been a very good big brother to you," He told the boy. "But from now on I'm going to try a lot harder, okay?"

The red ball cap bobbed up and down as Enzo nodded, starting to cry. Matrix bowed his head, swallowing hard and putting a giant hand on each of his copy's shoulders. "I promise you, I'm really going to try." Then, most unexpectedly the younger of the two reached for a hug, and for perhaps the first time ever, the elder naturally responded to him with reciprocation, hugging him so hard he thought perhaps he would crush him. "Don't you _ever_ turn out like me, Enzo..." He whispered to his little brother through gritted teeth, on the verge of tears. "Ever."

He heard a slight sniffle above them, and glacing up, he saw Dot smiling and crying silently. He reached out for her, still clutching Enzo to him in one arm, and as soon as her hand made contact with his own, he pulled her closer, easing her down into the hug.

"I'm just so sorry Dot," He gasped, looking at her with sad and humbled eyes. "I'm so sorry..." It was all he could think to say as he finally lost his resolve and began to weep. She was as much of a mother to him as she was a sister, and so when her small arms caught his enormous frame protectively, he hunched to cry on her offered shoulder.

"It's okay...it's okay." She whimpered, trying to form words despite the unified outburst that had taken all three of them.

There they were...the new Matrix family, all entwined and at the peak of a long-overdue emotional release. They took no regard of their location, or their viewers, but only of the comfort of really knowing that they always would have each other. Energy was thicker than data, and this realization had been of greater significance than the sum of their transgressions could ever be.

With cultivated care, Bob chose to interject, silently placing a hand on Dot's shoulder to draw her gaze up from her two distraught brothers. Drawing her hand away from Matrix, she pulled her glasses from her face and momentarily inspected the droplets of moisture on the lenses before using the back of her hand to wipe her eyes.

"I think we're all going to be better than okay," The said softly to her two siblings as if to state that it was due time for this moment to conclude itself.

"Yeah," Matrix looked to worst of the three, clearly not being a frequent or terribly attractive crier, his eyes having become puffy from the foreign act. "I think so," The large sprite's gaze turned to Phong, who observed him sternly. "I...I don't know how I'll ever earn your respect again, but know that I _will_."

Having resolutely decided upon this, the Renegade again drew himself up to his full height and forced himself to hold his head high as he surveyed the spectators that appraised him.

"Perhaps we should get you settled in," Bob suggested, staring sideways and upward at the newly-rendered game-hopper as he kept a brave face.

------

"Ray," AndrAIa stood and stiffly gestured towards the door. "I...think you should go."

Tracer bowed his head, still putting his weight on the back of the chair on which he leaned.

"Please AndrAIa, just hear me out." He requested meekly, having lost his volley of fearlessness.

The GameSprite stood up and pursed her lips into a thin line.

"I would like you to leave now, please." The maladroit manner in which she spoke only gave the Surfr further reason to speak, by his own reasoning.

"I'm not asking a lot," He began, changing his placement in the room so that he stood a respectable distance from her, but still squarely in her direct line of vision and within arms reach of stopping her should she seek to pivot to the left or right to evade him. "Just listen to what I have to say and then, if you still want, I'll leave."

This woman was exhausted by the very thought of any further animosity sprouting up in her life, and so, crossing her arms and glowering at him, she replied: "Fine, Ray. I'll hear you out, but the nano you're done I want you _out_ of this apartment."

Tracer nodded and began to realize that he had no idea what he was actually going to say to the sprite in front of him. All the ideas were there for him to verbalize, but he had neglected to organize them into something of coherence before seeking to present himself.

"Okay..." He clasped his hands together in front of himself as if it would help him think more quickly. "This isn't me just trying to hone in on you because Matrix is away. I mean, the whole thing that happened at the banquet doesn't really make a difference to it all. The only reason he even really got one up on me at all was because I had shut Baud down (Mouse and I had a fight about it and as per the norm, she got her way), and since Baud and I are one in the same I made myself a less capable sprite in disabling the stronger part of myself...if that makes any sense. If anything I had made myself weaker than a normal sprite by shutting Baud down," Seeing distaste in AndrAIa's expression, he moved on as quickly as his mouth would allow. "...but yeah...that's beside the point. I'm just trying to make it clear that it's not like I'm doing this to get back at Matrix or something. It's as much my fault for weakening my defenses as it is his for losing it."

He found it very awkward that she hadn't moved a muscle or changed her glance. It left him feeling unsettled - not his commonly confident self - as he tried to continue to state his case.

"Like I said, Mouse and I were havin' problems before," He paused and looked around the room for Baud, realizing that he'd set it down somewhere along the way without consciously realizing until now. "Like the whole thing with Baud. That fight was so random I almost can't believe it happened. She didn't want 'any distractions' while we were out, so she argued with me until I let her have her way and shut the spammed thing down. All I got out of it was getting to leave early..and we know how that went."

AndrAIa began to bite the inside of her cheek impatiently, not softening her expression at all.

"Okay, so I'll cut to the chase." He couldn't believe he was cracking under the pressure of her stare alone. "When I first saw you, I thought you were a rather attractive lady, and the fact that you needed saving only propelled me to be a proper gent and lend a hand. I figured we clicked pretty decently, and if it hadn'a been for Matrix, I'd have said something sooner. However, we had more important stuff to take care of and I wasn't going to put the moves on another fellow's girl."

"You mean like you're doing now?" The GameSprite interjected; Tracer tried to ignore this snappy little comment and continue.

"There was too much going on...even if you'd felt the same way it would've deleted Matrix to have you taken from him too. I knew things hadn't been easy for him and I wasn't going to pull his last lifeline out from under him. If Mainframe hadn't been a mess when we got back, and if I hadn't met Mouse, you and I would've had this conversation a long time ago." He said plainly.

"No, we wouldn't have." She replied. "I love Matrix and love is forever."

The male sprite took a step back from her and turned, shaking his head as if to both shrug off her harsh gawking and respond to her naïvety.

"Have you ever so much as kissed another sprite?" He asked, still turned away from her as his goggled eyes came to rest on Baud which now leaned against the wall by the main door of the apartment.

"No." She replied. "I'd never cheat on Matrix like that."

"Well if you've never known any love aside from Matrix', how can you possibly know that of all the Sprites in the Web, _he_ is the only one for you?" He craned his head around to see her dumbfounded expression when she found that she had nothing with which to verbally parry. "I'll be on my way now." He stated, walking towards the door.

She watched mutely as he reached for his SurfBaud, but she didn't see his surprised expression as he tilted the object forward in his hand and revealed that the hole in the wall still remained. It had been cycles...surely that was time enough to get it patched up. Why had she left it? Slightly dramatically, he swung the transportation device under his arm, abruptly unmasking the blemish to her as well. He was fairly certain that she was fully aware of it, but he felt some need to reaffirm the events that had transpired in this room with a silent warning.

"If you should need me, just Vid." He commented, midway through his exit.

"Ray, wait." The aqua-haired sprite could hardly believe the words had escaped her lips, but as he turned, she knew she had to give him something other than uneasy silence. "Why are you doing this? Why _now_?"

------


	6. Chapter 6

Defying the Darkness  
Chapter Six

Mouse didn't have anything important to do with her time. She had lied to Dot and Enzo, leaving briskly as she would when ready to hop in Ship and make a quick run to another system to either pick up or drop off something. In the past while she'd become more of a courier than a Hacker, as far as professions went. After Daemon's leaving, she preferred to use her adventurous side more moderately - she liked action, but she liked sticking close to Mainframe more. Certainly, she had kept herself sharp to ensure that if and when Mainframe's next threat rolled in she'd be ready to do her part, but otherwise her work generally involved shipments of things too large to sensibly send a sprite through a portal with, but too small to warrant hiring a crew like Capacitor's.

Now however, she sat in her ship's empty cargo hold in silence, sharpening one of her katanas. She was bad at relationships as she saw it, and Ray was another failed attempt to add to her list. Then again, Bob knew that - he'd been on the receiving end of one of her relationships, and not too long ago. It had taken her some time to really get over him, if she ever really did.

It was strange, though, the way she and Ray and fallen out. They had been doing great for cycles, _minutes_, and then one second they both woke up and just didn't get along. Everything had gone straight to the Data Dump, and she hadn't really been sure why.

Tiring of her idle sharpening, she set her blade on one side of her, and her stone on the other. She let her head fall back against the metal wall, and listened to the dull clunk that resounded.

"Ya make me random..." She whispered to the shadows. "Absolutely random."

------

"What?" Ray turned fully and closed the door again, leaning against it.

"Why?" That was AndrAIa's only question for the Surfr after the rambling he had done.

"I picked now because none of us is happy. Not you, me, Mouse...Matrix...none of us is happy in all of this!" He exclaimed, throwing a free hand to the air. "Really, now Love, does it make any sense to you?"

The GameSprite had nothing with which to respond, so she lowered her icy stare.

"Didn't think so." Tracer said, shaking his head. "Right...I was on my way out, wasn't I? I'll catch ya later, Lovely Lady." Those last words were spoken not ruefully, but with a certain nostalgia that seemed to lack in sincerity.

AndrAIa watched the Surfr exit, framing her face with her hands and draping her fingers over her eyes.

------

Matrix knew that staying with Dot was going to mean close quarters. More accurately, it meant that he was going to be sharing a room with Enzo. He _wanted_ to be around him, if only for the purpose of trying to establish a higher level of patience within himself, but he knew that being around him all the time, with no real quiet was going to test him because that child knew how to push his buttons without even trying.

Aside from that, he was fairly certain that he'd be cramping Enzo's style. No guy at any age ever liked having to share a room with his older brother - it was just some natural law that could not be broken or altered.

The Renegade stood in the doorway, appraising his old room and looking for the changes his younger copy had made. The furniture was arranged differently, and some of the small things were different - the personal accoutrements and beloved items were not what he would have chosen at that age, but the posters on the walls made him smirk almost involuntarily. Every single one of them was of a blue-skinned and green-haired beauty with startling amber eyes. She appeared to be the lead singer of a band called "Pixelicious", and he suspected that the band's namesake rested with her, because she most certainly was something impressive...

A light snicker caught the muscular sprite's attention, and glancing over his shoulder he found young Enzo behind him with a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey Kid, if you can look at her, so can I." Matrix stated, grabbing the red hat from Enzo's head, placing it atop his own as the boy brushed past. "Tell me..." The Renegade put his foot against the wall, which he knew would be to Dot's disliking (However, Dot wasn't around to catch him, now was she?)."D'you plan to go to the Academy?"

"Absolutely!" Enzo declared, spinning on his heel with a ReadMe in hand. "It's gonna' be _so_ alphanumeric!"

The older sprite nodded, smiling very slightly.

"So why don't you access your version one upgrade?" Matrix briefly examined his nails before trying to figure out what ReadMe his little brother was tossing around in his hands. "I haven't seen you in Guardian mode since we got the Daemon crisis under control."

"I don't really feel like I earned it." This Enzo was entirely different from the one Matrix had been, and he found himself entirely relieved by it. "I mean, when I was copied I already had it, so it's like cheating or something..."

"No," The big brother spoke firmly, but kindly. "You may not have earned that upgrade initially, but you definitely proved that you were deserving of it. You helped save the entire Net," He paused for a nano, not really knowing how to finish. "I'd say that counts for something." Finally Matrix felt the need to ask the question: "What's with the ReadMe?"

"Oh this?" Enzo looked at it with distaste. "School work." The boy shrugged. "It's COBOL - I don't even know why we need it anyway...it's so _old_."

The elder sibling shook his head.

"They're _still_ teaching you guys that stuff? I learned that when _I_ was your age!" He very clearly remembered a moment from his not-so-distant childhood, when an argument had been sparked between Bob and Dot, and this had been one of the topics. Thinking it best to err on the side of caution (if not for Enzo's sake, then for his own), he commented: "Better stick with it though...you never know when something like that might come in handy." He tossed the hat back to his brother who had rolled his eyes upon the suggestion that his studies be resumed. "Oh, Enzo, one more thing..."

"Yeah?" The boy's eyes snapped from the file in a nano. Any reason to look away from COBOL was a great one.  
"I don't want to crowd you out here, so if it's okay with you, I'd like to ask Bob if I can stay with him." He finally took his foot off the wall, glancing quickly to make sure he hadn't left a mark. "I don't want things to be weird between us, so I'm thinking that's probably best. You okay with that?"

Enzo looked incredibly relieved, and his boyish eyes simply could not hide this, as hard as the rest of his face tried.

"Sounds cool." The younger nonchalantly replied, sneaking a smile behind his ReadMe.

"Alright - just wanted to run it by you first." The Renegade nodded and stepped out of the room. "I'll leave you to your studies." He said, closing the door behind him. As soon as the latch clicked, he heard a _'Yahoo!'_ on the other side, and dropping his jaw just slightly, he exclaimed: "I can _hear_ you!" before shaking his head and walking away.

When he came to find that neither Bob or Dot was in the common room, he knew instantly to head either to the Diner or the Principle Office, and since the system was at peace, the likelihood was the former of the two. As though with a sudden jolt, he realized that he had been left alone with his kid copy, and really only micros after coming home. It made him smile to himself that despite his mistakes, his family instantly had restored faith in him, or at least enough to leave him alone with a miniature version of himself...which perhaps required more faith than locking him in a room with a benign Virus and asking him not to delete it.

"Hey Enzo, if you need me, I'm at the Diner!" Matrix hollered, quietly ordering Frisket to keep an eye on the studious sprite while he headed out. He gave the red and yellow dog a pat on the head. "You're a good boy, Frisket." This praise made the canine's rear end sway back and forth as he wagged his stubby tail, and as the tremendous Renegade made his exit, the loyal animal flopped down on the floor as if to both guard it and wait for someone to return.

------

"Either a' you two seen Mouse anywhere?" Surfr enquired as he approached the booth the and resident Guardian were sharing.

"No." The blue and green sprites had responded in unison, but with differing tones given that both knew something different about the current situation between Ray and Mouse. Dot spoke cautiously, while Bob's reply had an undertone of impatience.

"Well if you see her, can you tell her I need to talk with her?" He looked between them imploringly. "I haven't been able to hunt her down at all."

"Yeah, she always was good at hiding away from _some_ people," Guardian 452 found himself somewhat surprised by his own passive-aggressive behaviour, and even Dot gave him a sidelong eyeful after he'd made that little statement. "But, if we see her, we'll tell her."

Ray raised an eyebrow, suspecting there were more facets to this situation than he realized, and thinking it best to leave those facets undiscussed. He thanked the couple and exited, nearly colliding with one Renegade Matrix as he did so.

"Sorry, Mate." Said the Surfr, skidding to a halt. "No one told me you were back. How's it goin'?"

"Surfr." The GameHopper glared down his noise at Tracer, and it was apparent that any humbleness or kindness that he had displayed towards the sprite on the night he left Mainframe had gone with him and stayed in the SuperComputer.

This awkward moment had dulled the conversational din in the room, and to avoid any escalation, the two males side-stepped one another, exchanging glances in the process. The entire room seemed to cling to the momentary tension before collectively relaxing upon the WebSurfr's departure. Matrix took no heed of this and took a seat in the booth where his sister and her boyfriend sat.

"Do you have a nano?" The Renegade addressed them both with this question.

"Yeah, shoot." The silver-haired sprite leaned forward to put his elbows on the table. "What's processing?"

"Well I've been thinking, and I was wondering if perhaps I could stay with you for the time being, Bob, since you're the only one living in your apartment." There really hadn't been much more to his request, but he caught a questioning vibe from his sister that prompted him to further explain. "I just think that it'd be better than having everyone piled into your place, Dot. I mean, Enzo's getting to be older, and he and I tend to clash -"

"To put it mildly." She added, as an honest but light-hearted comment.

"Exactly." Matrix opened his hands. "So...?"

Guardian 452 nodded.

"As long as you don't mind sleeping on that couch of mine, I'm fine with it. Dot?"

The inspected the expressions on the faces of the men, and then, with some hesitance, agreed.

"I don't see why not." She answered slowly, unsure of the idea, but finding no reason to doubt it. The she looked at him with a look that echoed revelation. "Matrix, did you leave Enzo home alone?" She enquired with the utmost tone of surprise.

"Yeah...?" He cocked an eyebrow. "Why? He's almost 11 - and he seems better behaved than I was at his age. I'm fairly sure he's not doing something basic."

The gave her nutation, but not with approval.

"I know, but he's still young to be left alone. What if -"

Before she could voice her objections or worries, Matrix very plainly interjected with: "Hey, at 11 I was in the games. If he can't handle sitting at home and studying, then we have a greater issue on our hands than his age."

Bob tilted his head to mock-whisper in Dot's ear.

"He's got a point, you know." He told her, grinning as she gave him evil eyes, and kissing her on the cheek to diffuse her bitterness.

"Great." Matrix got up and headed on his way. "Thanks guys." He said before heading back out into Mainframe. Once he was in front of the window, he turned and waved a goodbye before heading in the direction of Kits and Bob's apartment.

The green female leaned back into Bob's shoulder, tilting her head back to look at him.

"Think we can start getting back to normal now?" She asked, smiling softly. "Or at least, as normal as things get for Mainframe?"

Before her blue counterpart could reply, Mouse made her entrance. She walked in a fashion that suggested that he had a mission, and before she was even reasonably close to the two sprites, she asked, "Has Ray come by here?"

"Yes," The Guardian told her. "He was looking for you, but he didn't say where he was going - just that he wanted to talk to you." That affirmation having been made, the Hacker again left the place that she had barely come into to begin with. "Jeeze, what _is_ this place? Sprite Central?" He joked into his lady love's ear.

She laughed softly in reply, and pulled out her organizer to ensure she wasn't missing anything of huge importance. Almost surprised at her clear calendar, she waved it at Bob, who took the opportunity to snatch it and add an entry of his own before handing it back. Only her eyes saw what he wrote, and upon reading the message her mouth fell open and she hit him in the chest, biting her lip.

"You are terrible." She grinned before closing the organizer, getting up from the booth, and heading to the basement with him on her tail.

------

AndrAIa had taken to brooding - something that was incredibly uncharacteristic of her. She sat on her sofa, staring at that pit in the wall and thinking of Ray's words over and over:_ "Well if you've never known any love aside from Matrix', how can you possibly know that of all the Sprites in the Web, **he** is the only one for you?"_

Tracer had made her sincerely angry, but she wasn't entirely sure why. He had just struck a nerve, she figured, but how dare he try to plant some seed of doubt in her mind about how much she loved Matrix? At the same time, she found herself entertaining the questions that arose from said doubt. One part of her said to dismiss all questions and go back to thinking of things as they were, but another begged her to examine these doubts and ensure they weren't valid. That was perhaps what was making her angriest...the fact that she was even entertaining these concerns.

Yet, every time she looked at that blemish beside the door where she and Matrix had almost had a physical altercation, she couldn't help but wonder if her decision was the right one. She had kept it there to remind herself - and him, when he finally came - what had transpired in this room so that it might not happen again, but how were things going to work for them? How were they going to get back to being a normal couple after that? She feared greatly that this would not happen. She shook her head. She needed perspective on the situation (minus the information as to what had been discussed between herself and Ray). She needed to find Mouse.

------


	7. Chapter 7

Defying the Darkness  
Chapter Seven

Matrix looked around Bob's apartment and sighed. He wondered just how long he was supposed to stay away from AndrAIa. He missed her greatly, and as he stretched out on the hideous curved couch, he couldn't help but wish he was lying in his bed, wrapping a strong arm around her petite form.

Just as he began to doze - despite the fact that it was the middle of the second - a familiar voice nearly jolted him out of his skin.

"You're seeing it first right here folks!" Mike the TV had bounced to life in the room with his cameraman binome. "I'm here with Renegade Matrix, the sprite gone bad, gone back to good, mere mircos after his return to Mainframe! Does he pose a threat to the population? Has he seen the light and been reformatted? And what caused him to go random in the first place? Is Hexadecimal's infection starting to over-come the Net, and if so, what will the results of her Daemon-destroying infection be? All that and more, right here, right now!" The television turned to Matrix, grinning obnoxiously as he waved a microphone in the reclined sprite's face. "So, Matrix, tell me -"

"Mike!" The Renegade sat up and then stood, purposely painting a menacing expression on his face. "Get out. _Now._" The media monger was not about to stop, and looked to his camera and back to the subject of the interview, about to ask something else when the green male repeated himself, considerably increasing his volume the second time around. "Now!" Matrix did not wait for the two to leave of their own volition. He grabbed each of them in a hand and very swiftly sent them tumbling out the door, rubbing his head to ease the invisible ache that had arrived only moments later.

His hopes of a nap had been entirely trounced by Mike the TV and his camera-bearing assistant, and so, with a stretch and a yawn, he decided that perhaps he should brave the city of Mainframe and take a walk. Hopefully, being seen out and acting normal would do something to aid the uncomfortable feeling he had been experiencing since he had come back.

Not too long after he had left the apartment, trying not to appear awkward as he strolled, he looked up into the sky and couldn't believe his eyes. There, so far above him that she was like a miniature figurine, was AndrAIa on her ZipBoard, heading across the sector, and into Floating Point, with the seeming destination of the docks nearest to the Beverly Hills portion of the system. The very sight of her made him feel like his heart was going to explode, and he wanted to call out to her so badly that his entire bitmap hurt as he kept his silence.

He decided he'd pursue on foot, and if it so happened that he caught up and ran into her, then it was certainly no fault of his own that they were in the same place at the same time. After all, he had just been out for a walk - or so he would innocently claim to Bob and Dot if and when they found out. Mainframe was not a city for secrets, so he knew the word would probably get back to the pair sooner or later. However, his objective at the moment was to see AndrAIa again, and find out if they were going to be able to fix what he had broken.

------

Whenever AndrAIa needed to find Mouse, she either went looking for Ray or Ship. She'd seen enough of the Surfr for an entire cycle, so Ship it was. As she approached, she listened closely, and upon hearing the movements of only one sprite inside, she beat on one of the massive doors, before opening it and calling: "Mouse?" She heard the Hacker moving into the cockpit, and could understand why perhaps she hadn't heard the call, so she followed the sound.

"Hey Mouse, you here?" the GameSprite asked, but the reply was not what she had been anticipating.

"No," A male voice with a thick Australian accent responded, and before AndrAIa could make any frustrated exclamation, the voice continued with. "Why're you here?" Suddenly the Surfr's goggled face appeared from around the doorway of the pilot compartment, wearing an involuntary half-smirk.

"I was looking for Mouse." The aqua-haired sprite replied, placing her hands on her hips. "Why are _you_ here?"

"Same thing." Tracer fully exited the cockpit, saying: "I'd ask you to come and sit down, but I have a feeling you're not too keen on that idea." AndrAIa rolled her eyes and readily began to head on her way again, when he asked her a question that she could not ignore. "Have put any though to our chat earlier?"

She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Yes. Why?"

He leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed.

"I was just wonderin' if there were any grounds for further...discussion." Underneath the protective eyegear, he winked, and she knew that was precisely what he had done from watching the rest of his face accommodate the action.

"There's nothing else to talk about." She replied pointedly.

"Alright then," There was mischief in his tone. "But if you actually want me to believe that, you're going to have to kiss me."

She snapped around as though on a swivel and gawked at him in shock.

"Ray, are you _random_?" She simply could not believe her ears.

"Completely," He replied, testing his waters by stepping closer to her. "But that's a whole other matter." He now stood a hair's breadth from her, satisfied with the fact that she had not recoiled. "Y'see, if you _really_ want me to believe you, you're gonna' have to kiss me - only once - and tell me that you didn't feel a thing." He had leaned down just slightly, so she could feel his warm breath on her lips as he spoke. He had developed a full smile, and this was accompanied by the mandatory raise of the eyebrow.

The GameSprite glanced around herself quickly, and listening to her surrounding environment, she could hear nothing but the sprite in front of her. Then, acting rashly, she made a statement towards the Surfr.

"Fine!" She snapped. "If doing that will make you drop this once and for all, then I'll do it," She pointed a finger at him in the minuscule space that was between them. "But, if you _ever_ bring this up again -"

"I won't." He solidly affirmed, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into a kiss.

AndrAIa had been surprised by this - she had been anticipating a nano or two of preparation, but Tracer had gone straight for the target. Trying to swallow her guilt, she let the kiss itself take over her thoughts. How very different it was from Matrix'. Her Lover had always had a more reserved passion...a gentler fashion to balance the fiery anger he often gave to the Net. Ray, on the other hand, was heated and tenacious in his ways. His mouth worked her own as if to convince her that she really did like what he was doing. His tongue writhed within her mouth and his lips sought to tell her to give in and enjoy it - to reciprocate and not be ashamed.

The pair heard a scuff and an involuntary gasp that instantly pulled them apart from one another, their heads flipping around to the source of the sound.

"AndrAIa...?" There stood Matrix, looking as though he'd suffered a great blow. Brow furrowed and jaw slackened, the colour had drained from his face as his eyes jumped back and forth between the GameSprite and the Surfr. He was trying to find words to express his disbelief, but upon finding himself incapable, he sped from the scene with alarming speed.

"Sparky, wait!" She shoved Tracer away from her and was about to take off in pursuit, when the male sprite at hand caught her wrist and gave her an enquiring look. She knew the question his muteness asked, and it made her bleary-eyed to know that she would not have been able to honestly deliver a "no" in reply had he asked aloud. She shook her head at him, pulling her arm away and taking to the air via ZipBoard to catch up with her Lover.

------

"Matrix!" The GameSprite swung around in front of him, forcing him to halt and finally recognize her. "Please listen to me - that wasn't what it looked like!" She stepped onto the ground and looked up at him. "He...he kissed me first."

"I don't doubt that." The Renegade didn't know from where he summoned his words; he was simply glad that he had them now when he needed them. "The problem is that you kissed back."

She shook her head.

"No, I didn't." Her eyelids flickered as she softly put a hand to his cheek and forced his eyes to meet her own. "He just..._kissed_ me, and I -"

"AndrAIa, you kissed him back." Matrix replied harshly. "You say it's not what it looked like, but you have no _idea_ what it looked like." He couldn't keep looking into her aqua irises - it was too easy to get lost in them. He sent his gaze wherever it would evade hers.

"It was a mistake, Lover." Her hand slid from his face to his neck. "Please, believe me, it was a mistake." Her voice was trembling. "Please forgive me, Enzo..."

His nostrils flared and he closed his eyes.

"I can't. Not right now." He nearly choked on his words as he relayed them to her.

"But Enzo..." Her other free hand roamed through his hair.

"Matrix." He told her firmly, reaching up and pulling her arm down so he could kiss her hand, so he could hold it. "I can't AndrAIa," He whispered to her fingers.

"That's not fair." The aquatic sprite spoke in equal volume to his. "I just...it's not fair. I've already forgiven _you_. I forgave you that night - I wanted you to stay so we could work things out..."

"I know." He wondered if deletion was as painful as having the woman he loved do what she had done, and if having too much pride to concede and let bygones be bygones was a major flaw on his part.

"I didn't mean what I said to you that night...any of it." She fell against his chest, talking into it as she went on. "You didn't ruin my life. You _are_ my life...I love you."

The green sprite's hand stroked the sweep of aqua hair, and his head tilted so that his cheek rested on the top of her head.

"I know," He wanted nothing more right now that to spill out a thousand apologies and forget what he had just seen between her and the Surfr. He wanted to go back to normal. "And that's why I can't let this drop right now. I love you more than anything in this Net, and I'd do anything to keep you safe...so I think we need to take a break." He felt some part of himself shut down as he told her this. "I can't be with you right now. I'm sorry." Releasing her from himself, he hung his head and walked beyond her, halting for a moment. "I don't want this to be forever." He said, not looking back to her. "If you're willing to wait, I want us to be a couple again - just not yet. I want to get things right this time." He didn't idle for a reply, but instead continued on the path he had come. He would go back to Bob's place, and he would try to figure out whether or not what he had just done was a mistake or not.

As per the norm, Ray wasn't too far behind, and as soon as he was within arm's reach, AndrAIa instantly extended her hand and struck him across the face, finding that it had no effect on him. After all, when he and Baud were synced, he was virtually indestructible.

"I deserved that." He commented, seeing the hurt in her expression.

"Ray! There you are! I've been lookin' for you all second!" Mouse's strong accent came across the distance to greet the two sprites, and before the Hacker could get within range to get an idea of what had happened, AndrAIa departed for home on her Zip. She had a wall to patch.

------

Dot remerged from the basement of the Diner, blushing slightly and smiling. She looked otherwise perfect - as always - and resumed business as usual, not drawing any attention to herself in the slightest. It was Bob who wore a badge of guilt on his chest like an icon. He hair was tousled, and he was simply incapable of wiping the silly smirk from his face. It was a sheer miracle that his uniform wasn't twisted or contorted in some fashion to further indicate what the two sprites could have been doing in the sub-level.

"We should probably go check on Enzo." The noted, checking the time on her wristwatch. I'd imagine he'll be expecting some form of meal or another soon. If he's actually been studying all this time I'll have to see about taking him Circuit Racing or something."

The blue sprite said nothing of significance initially, but only nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure he'd like that." He said finally, as if his responses had been put on a delay. I'm just gonna' run by the apartment first and check in on Matrix...see if he needs anything."

"Okay," Seeing as how the pair was still behind the bar, the female made a couple of shakes and gestured for the Guardian to lift the counter-top for her. She did eventually hand one of the two drinks to him, at which time she queried: "Meet you at my place?"

"Yep. See you there."

------

"I'm sorry Sugar, but we're just not workin' out." Mouse had quite quickly cut to the chase when it came to what was on her mind when it came to her relationship with the Surfr. "I guess what I'm sayin' here is that I want to break up."

Tracer had intended to tell her precisely the same thing, but it ruffled his feathers, as they say, to be the one getting broken up with. He almost suspected that Mouse had seen it coming, and done it first just to spite him.

Truthfully, that had been precisely what she had done. She had wanted to try to work things out once more, but she wasn't blind. Her intuition and her intelligence told her that he had written this relationship off. End of file. She had simply chosen to take the initiative and be the one to end it - it gave her some kind of obscure satisfaction to be the one doing the breaking up. It was as though beating him to the punch made it worthwhile. Though, that was the way with most, if not all, relationships that she'd had.

"Right then." Ray had knit his eyebrows together. "I guess I'll be takin' the next wave outta' this system then. It's time I got back to surfing anyway." He said his piece acrimoniously and decided it was time for him to leave the conversation.

Mouse didn't want him to be too embittered by what had occurred, and so she added: "It was good while it lasted, Honey."

With such simplicity and so little having been said, their relationship met its end. Neither party was entirely content, but both understood that with their personalities being so alike, that when they started to clash, they needed to split. The Hacker knew she would regret not having fought for their so-called love, but Tracer's only regret would be that he had not only made a mess of his own situation, but of Matrix and AndrAIa's as well in an effort to discover if his sentiments were going to be reciprocated. Though, the only way to find out was to try, and everyone in this system had been subjected to worse than couple troubles - he was fairly certain they'd all recover from this soon enough, and by then he'd be back in the Web, surfing like he always had.

------


	8. Chapter 8

Defying the Darkness  
Chapter Eight

AndrAIa hadn't gone straight home as she had originally intended. She didn't want to be home right now. She was sitting in the shadow of a large residential building in a somewhat out-of-sight, out-of-mind place. The area bore a strong resemblance to an alleyway, and no one really had call to go there unless they were collecting the garbage or fleeing a fire. From the looks of the dumpsters, the second of those events was the most likely to happen.

One of her legs was stretched out on the ground, and the other was curled up so she should rest her chin on her knee. She had wrapped her arms around the folded leg and simply cried. She didn't make a sound, but the tears flowed down her cheeks like small rivers, falling in large droplets on her wrist-guards before shattering into a thousand smaller droplets that seemed to disappear. She needed Matrix. She loved him so much...how could he turn her away? She really wished that slap she had given to Ray had actually hurt him - not just made her point known.

Perhaps if she talked to Dot something could be worked out. At absolute least, she and Matrix would have a level-headed mediator to keep their purpose defined. She wondered why no one had told her he was back. This hadn't really occurred to her until now, and it only registered with her now because she had considered speaking with another member of the Matrix family - one who would certainly have know he had come home.

Wiping the tears from her face, she decidedly set a course for Baudway and the apartment.

------

Matrix was pacing the floor with enough intensity to potentially bore a hole in it. He had been doing this for some time now, waiting for Bob to drop by. He didn't want to pull him away from something important, but he _really_ needed to relay what he had just done to the Guardian to gain some perspective on it and decide whether or not he had acted in error.

Naturally Bob, having an uncanny ability to arrive where needed when needed, entered the apartment just when the Renegade was about to pull up a Vid and get in touch with him.

"Bob, do you have a few nanos?" The green sprite asked, barely giving his host a chance to enter.

"Yeah, sure! What's processing?" Guardian 452 didn't have a full realization of how much Matrix had worked himself up, and so when faced with a rather speedy and Enzo-like telling of the concern, he was forced to interrupt much as he had when the GameHopper was a child and ask him to slow down. "Now, _what_ is going on?"

The younger of the two sprites began again, this time with a considerably higher level of coherence.

"I went to see AndrAIa, and -"

"You what? Matr -"

The Renegade threw a hand up that asked for silence from Bob.

"I know, alright? I know." He huffed, resuming his story-telling. "I went to see her - saw her heading to Mouse's ship and when I got there..." He paused, deciding to sit down, and in doing so giving the Guardian a chance to do the same. "When I got there I found her sucking face with Surfr." The silver-haired male was again going to interject, but before he could be given that option, Matrix continued his account of what had happened. "So after that I spoke with her briefly and told her that we couldn't be a couple right now...or, really, that _I_ couldn't be with her at the moment. I'm starting to think I made the biggest mistake of my life. I mean, I've only been here for a few micros, and...well...yeah." He shrugged and stretched his legs out straight.

For quite some time, neither sprite said anything, and then Bob quietly asked,

"Did you hit him?" Clearly he referred to Tracer.

Matrix shook his head, responding with a simple "No."

"Ironic." The Guardian stated. "That is perhaps the one time I would have _encouraged_ you to clean his clockchip."

"But what do I do about AndrAIa? I told her that we could try and pick things up later..." The Renegade's perplexed tone gave Bob absolutely no directional compass to guide him to an appropriate response.

"Well...what did she say?" He asked cautiously.

"She told me it wasn't fair." Shrugging, Matrix put a hand to his forehead. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

Bob was now the one who swayed his head from left to right in negation.

"No, you're not an idiot, Matrix, but you should probably speak to AndrAIa about this and figure out if this was the best course of action or not." The Guardian stood up. "She's a very reasonable sprite, and I'm sure that if you two talk this out, you'll be able to find a solution."

Just as this was said, Glitch made a very brief beeping sound, and Dot was calling to him through the keytool.

"Bob, is Matrix over there with you?" She asked, compassionate concern in her voice.

"Yes, why?" He could hear some kind of background noise, but it was too garbled to be deciphered.

"AndrAIa's here...and I think she and Matrix need to talk to one another."

Not giving the Renegade a say in the matter, Guardian 452 declared: "We're on our way."

------

Dot and AndrAIa had been sitting and chatting for some time now. The GameSprite had stopped her crying quite some time ago, but she still wore absolute heart-break on her face. As soon as Matrix and Bob entered the apartment, she had snapped to attention, her cheerless eyes gazing at her Lover raptly.

The first words said by any of the four sprites upon their coming together were spoken by Renegade Matrix.

"I don't want to risk having Enzo hear any of this," He told the other three almost inaudibly. "He's seen enough of my mistakes as it is."

Soft murmurs amongst the group finally produced the general consensus that Matrix was correct in seeking to keep this matter from the child, and so, to answer the call of duty, Guardian 452 proceeded to call down the hallway to Enzo's closed door.

"Hey Enzo, how about a little Circuit Racing?" Bob had turned back to the group to keep abreast of the primary event as best as he could, and in mere nanos he heard the young sprite's hurried footsteps behind him.

"Circuit Racing? You're on! C'mon Frisket!" Enzo slid into the main room, his shoes squealing on the floor as he came to a halt.

No one had been expecting what they saw when the boy made his entrance, for he wore his Guardian uniform, proudly placing his hands on his hips and holding his head high to show it off.

"Well now Little Sparky, don't you look sharp!" AndrAIa was the first to make a statement to him, but the others weren't far behind in their praise.

"Lookin' good, Kid." Matrix declared, smiling slightly at his copy, and Dot looked betwixt them approvingly.

"Yes, Enzo. You look fantastic..." She tilted her head to one side as her own smile grew. "...but you are growing up far too quickly." The latter portion of the statement had been said lightly, but were fully true to Dot's opinion of her youngest sibling.

The adults of the room exchanged glances swiftly, and for a nanos all that mattered was that eager Enzo Matrix stood before them as a Version One Cadet.

"Alright, _Cadet Matrix_," The Guardian began. "You ready to race?" A brief flash of envy flickered on the face of the Renegade in the room, but it was gone again as quickly as one could blink.

"Are you kidding me!" The child exclaimed eagerly. "I am going to completely offline you!"

"Over my deleted bitmap!" Bob retorted, ushering himself and the Cadet out in the process while the two of them continued their banter, the dog following closely behind.

This left only the troubled couple and the

------

Ray surfed over Mainframe, taking a final look at the city that he had considered his home for a short time. He and Mouse were no longer an item, and he seriously doubted that he and AndrAIa would be come one. Had that one fateful kiss gone another way, the Surfr would have no issues with leaving the system, but he knew - he just _knew_ - that the lovely GameSprite had felt something when his lips had caressed hers. Even in her upset he had seen it in her eyes.

However, Matrix had once again come home, and with his return Tracer knew there was no chance of getting into AndrAIa's heart. She had unwaviering, almost _blinding_ love for him, and that put Ray out of the picture. The only way he would be considered now would be if her current relationship fell to shambles over what Matrix had witnessed...and that wasn't exactly the best premise to hope for.

The Surfr had made an all-around disaster out of things, and he knew he wouldn't even factor into the equation that would repair his destruction. He had handled the events poorly, and had completely lacked his usual skill with tricky situations. That being the case, he also recognized (or rather surmised) that he no longer had a place in this system. It was time for him to return to his surfing, of which he had been increasingly neglectful after returning Megabyte to the Mainframers.

These were the musings that occupied his mind as he took what he presumed would be his last look at Mainframe. It was a shame really..before that banquet everything had been perfect. He and Mouse had been content, he had found a good friend in AndrAIa, and he and Matrix had even been getting along reasonably well.

He would have to give them all an apology, if nothing else, but he knew fully that this was not the time for it. Perhaps he would send word back to them in a few cycles, or consider making another brief visit, but as it was now, it was best to stay out of the way. Bearing that in mind, he swiftly made his exit from Mainframe at the ports of the Data C:\, holding his head high and not looking back. He was again Ray Tracer, the WebSurfr, the adventurer...the vagabond.

------

Dot had assigned herself as the mediator between Matrix and AndrAIa, to keep anything from getting out of hand, and to hopefully find some kind of resolve for them. The Aqua-haired sprite had been seated on Dot's sofa, and the Renegade sat on the coffee table in front of her, so that they could properly face one another. The had chosen to seat herself in a ZipChair beside both of them so that she might be more of an observer and referee than a participant.

"I guess you can start first, AndrAIa." The bespectacled sprite announced, sitting back and waiting for things to begin.

"Oh...okay..." Hastily the GameSprite gulped back her anxiety, and calmly said: "Enzo, I don't think it's reasonable that you can be so unforgiving of me after what you did."

Matrix didn't wait on a cue from Dot.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to forgive you." He replied. "I said I couldn't forgive you right now."

"Tell me why not!" This demand was given to the Renegade without anger, but with heart-broken exasperation.

Both of them looked at each other with unfaltering love, as if to spite all that had happened between them.

"It's just too much for me right now." He whispered, leaning closer to AndrAIa. The female Matrix had faded into the background completely, and no heed was taken of her presence whatsoever.

"What do you mean?" Simple answers were not going to be sufficient for the Artificially Intelligent sprite; she wanted a valid explanation, and she had determined that she would not quit until she had one.

For a moment no one drew breath. Matrix was going to have to tell her one of his deepest truths, and he didn't know if he could bear the idea. There were things that some sprites simply did not share with others, and now he was going to have to bare himself to AndrAIa or risk losing her forever.

"It's too hard..." He kept his words to a whisper. "It's like...all of my dreams and hopes and plans were taken from me when I was a child, and the only way I was able to get things back on track again was to do things I hated. I...had to live off of my hatred." He clenched his own knee until his knuckles paled. "Then I made new plans, new objectives, and as soon as I achieved them, I found something worse again waiting for me. It just keeps happening. I start to get things in order and make my life work, and something new and worse gets in my way." The Renegade bowed his head - an action that was becoming all to frequent. "AndrAIa, no matter what I do...no matter how hard I try, everything I touch always falls apart. I'm not going to let that happen to us." He reached out and snatched her hand. "I _can't_."

"We can work through this, Lover..." The GameSprite hoarsely murmured. "We'll fix it."

Soundlessly, Dot left the room to give the couple their privacy. She would still be within earshot, but would no longer watch them in the fashion of a voyeur.

"Yes, we will," AndrAIa's hand on Matrix' chin pulled his gaze to her. She looked so sad, so determined...so loving. "But not yet." He stated weakly; she was shredding his resolve with each passing nano. "If I don't fix myself, how are we supposed to fix _us_? It'd be like trying to use a fragmented file..."

It was AndrAIa's head that now tilted downward. She knew this was true; it was just so hard to make the correct choice. She could practically hear what Phong would say. _That which is right is rarely, if ever, easy._ Abandoning her composure, she threw herself into Matrix' arms and hugged him as tightly as her strength would possibly allow. He had done much the same, holding her to him as though for dear life.

"I don't know when," The muscular male buried his face in the lean woman's soft, sweet-smelling hair. "But you have my word that I'll come back to you. I will devote very second, every cycle to being the sprite I was meant to be so that I can be deserving of and you and give you everything you deserve in return."

They held their embrace for a small eternity - it had to last them both an infinite amount of time if they were to succeed in their efforts. Hence their resolution had been uncovered. It wasn't perfect, but then again, nothing ever was.

------

Ray had left the system indefinitely, and Mouse had to re-establish her hard exterior after having grown soft from the Surfr's affections; Matrix was going to work each and every nano at discovering the normalcy that had been stolen from him in his youth, and AndrAIa had chosen to do as her heart instructed and wait for him; Enzo the copy had begun to step into his own, finally laying claim to his Cadet status.

Bob and Dot? They had done everything within their power to hold the entire lot together. They had been the catalysts for the commencement of the repairs, for the most part, and although they had not been able to take care of everything, they had done their best and had helped lay the foundations for better times ahead. That was the best they could expect. It would be some time before they realized how much stronger the experience had made them as a unit, however, they had indeed been rewarded for their work by becoming closer to one another.

All that remained now was for Renegade Enzo Matrix to hold to his word and commit to his own betterment. It was time to shake the dark shroud that had been suffocating him and take back his life. It was time to hope again.

It was time to hope.

------

**End.**


End file.
